Meng Lu
Background Lu Meng is a general who first served Sun Ce as a warrior subjugating bandits and soldiers. Sun Quan noticed that he was uneducated and advised him to study. He eventually made his way to In'ei Temple and did just that. After three years of vigorous studying, he was renowned to be a prudent and wise individual who made peace between Gan Ning and Ling Tong. He then went on to serve the Tokugawa family as one of their 28 generals. Chen Shou wrote that he was a capable general of remarkable intelligence, as his wit and strength were used to foil Zhang Liao and Guan Yu's armies, two powerful, if minor lords opposing the growing hegemony of the Tokugawa Clan. Appearance Mid length black hair, a sober, almost somber expression and the general regalia of the vassals of the Tokugawa Clan. Personality He is a serious individual, humor passes him by most of the time, though he can be caught with a small smile and a wistful expression now and again. At the Temple he was known to be a hard worker, studious and dedicated to his teachers. He made quick progress, impressing all who beheld him. Eventually he surpassed monks who had been training since childhood to master the Hozoin-Ryu beyond the status of Novice. Abilities As an Adept of the Hozoin-Ryu soujutsu, and an expert in the Resshuken style, Lu is an immensely dangerous combatant, able to physically overpower most opponents, utilizing his advantages in the departments of speed and strength to overwhelm his opponents with close range offensives. In addition, through the use of the unique brand of Chakra Flow granted by Adept mastery of Hozoin-Ryu he is able to generate ninjutsu-style effects despite undergoing no formal training in the subject. Physical Prowess To be able to adequately fight using these styles, the Lu Meng trained his body to absolute peak physical condition, meeting the physical requirements to use them at an impressive level. As an Adept practitioner, he has gained enhanced physical prowess exceeding that of the Strong Fist style of fighting. Reflexes, experience, muscle memory, combat perception, evasion, strength, agility, dexterity, acrobatics, and striking speed are all on par with top-tier fighting styles, giving him physical prowess that is peak human. His movements are so quick that they bleed together and blur in such a way that after-images are often produced from the simplest of attacks and parries. In addition, he is able to use this speed and his incredible reflexes to instantly switch from offense to defense and vice-versa, often in the same fluid movement. All of this he can do without utilizing chakra. Taijutsu Lu, as a part of his training to master the S ranked soujutsu Hozoin-Ryu, first became an expert in the Resshuken fighting style. As such, his skill in taijutsu is extremely high. He can fight very dangerous opponents unarmed, though he rarely does so, preferring to fight utilizing both Hozoin-Ryu and Resshuken simultaneously. Ninjutsu Though untrained in actual ninjutsu, the monks of In'ei Temple taught him well how to knead chakra in order to enhance his offense with his spear weapons. He uses these principles to great effect when he must fight against ninjutsu. Nature Transformation His Chakra Flow gained as a part of Adept mastery of Hozoin-Ryu allows him to use a peculiar form of Fire Release that is based around chakra flow. He is able to shroud both himself and his spear in a fiery aura that can ignite his surroundings, thoug he is obviously unharmed by the flame and heat. He cannot maintain this chakra flow for but a few moments at a time at his present level of skill. He uses this to leap quickly into close range combat to ensure maximum damage to his foe. He can also shroud just his weapon in the fiery aura. When he launches it a powerful concussive explosion of flame will take place further obliterating whatever he impales with his projectile. In addition, he utilizes his secondary nature, Earth Release in two manners: he can temporarily flow the earth element chakra over his weapon and body, hardening them against physical blows, or he can shroud his body in earth element chakra to move through the earth in a very, very rudimentary Doton no Jutsu. It is not quick, and without knowledge of hand seals, it takes quite a bit of chakra wasted to do. Still, he can accomplish this feat even while both hands grip his spear, such is the unique ability of the brand of chakra flow Hozoin-Ryu exhibits. The strength of his "nature transformation" is comparable to B ranked jutsu, merely due to the fact that the chakra flow skill itself is around A-S ranked difficulty. His inexperience with chakra molding causes him to waste a great deal of chakra, and so if forced to use chakra during a battle, he will tire out extremely quickly. This is why hand signs are used even among the temple monks. At the very least, his chakra control is not at the level it needs to be. This however is a function of inexperience. Bukijutsu He is knowledgeable of, and carries with him standard small shinobi weapons such as shuriken, kunai, paper tags, ninja wire, and various bombs (smoke, flash bang, poison gas). He carries his spear on his back. He knows no fuuinjutsu, but he has a scroll gifted to him by Taizen himself which only requires activation from his chakra signature to release up to six other pole-arms, from halberds, to bo staves, to the traditional jumonji-yari of the style. Soujutsu Adept level mastery of Hozoin-Ryu soujutsu. Trivia * Meng Lu is a historical figure depicted in the game Dynasty Warriors 7